Adele For Elle US May 2013

UK singer-superstar Adele covers the May 2013 issue of Elle US for their Women In Music issue, which also features Alicia Keys and Rita Ora.

The Golden Globe, Academy Award and Grammy winner was shot by Thomas Whiteside at L.A.’s EastWest Studios – the studio made famous by icons like Frank Sinatra – wearing a black lace vintage Alberta Ferretti dress and sporting a beehive ‘do and smoky eyes.

The music issue includes a tribute to Adele and the thoughts of fellow musicians – including Katy Perry, Britney Spears, John Mayer and legend Barbra Streisand – on her meteoric rise to fame.

Adele talks to Elle about taking her time with her third album, the highest point of her career, the worst show she ever performed and the song which always gets her on the dance floor.

Here are some extracts from her interview.

On her third album: “I’m writing the songs now, and then I’ll want to rehearse them for a while. As much as I love my first album, there are still things that I wish I had done differently. So I don’t want to rush anything. You’re only as good as your last record, so if I put out something that’s shit, nobody’s going to buy it. If it’s crap, people will be like, “Why was she ever such a big deal?” So I have to take my time. I mean, if it takes me three years, I imagine people will start getting a bit nervy… but I’ll do my best to avoid that.”

On the high point in her career: “Winning the Grammys! To be nominated for a Grammy would have been a highlight, but winning just blew my mind.”

On the worst show she ever played: “One of my first gigs, in 2006, in a dinky little pub in East London. I didn’t realize that I was headlining: I thought I was on at 8 p.m., but it turned out that I wasn’t on until about 2 a.m. It was a Friday night, so I had invited all my friends and my family, and there were probably another 300 people there who had heard about me and come to watch me. Anyway, I got so drunk between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. I played three songs, I forgot the words, and I fell off my chair. It was a free show, thankfully. Can you imagine paying to see someone forget their own lyrics and fall off their chair? Worst thing ever. That’s why I stopped drinking”.

On her go-to party song: “When I want to party, I play “Crazy in Love.” That’s always been the song that my friends and I get ready to; or before I go on a first date, I play it to feel sexy.”

The publication will be hosting it’s annual ELLE Women In Music event in New York City this evening with Kelly Rowland, Rita Ora, Mia Moretti, and Jourdan Dunn all expected to attend.

As a musician, she’s very talented. Her voice is powerful and her lyrics are moving. But as a model or fashion icon? She simply isn’t one, as far as I’m concerned. She wears the most boring things I’ve ever seen–a bevy of sparkly black gowns and a couple of colorful dresses here and there. The cover is uninteresting. I like the interview (the tidbit about her “worst performance” is funny) but there’s no high-fashion element.